


You Don't Have to Be Alone

by HoltzLightSpecial



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Holiday, Holtzbert - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-11 20:44:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9020296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoltzLightSpecial/pseuds/HoltzLightSpecial
Summary: It's Christmas, and Erin and Holtzmann are alone together. Even though their romance blossoms with each passing day, Erin is haunted by her lifelong low-self esteem and anxiety. Why should she try after a lifetime of failure? Will she a get a chance at happiness with Holtz? Will she allow herself to take it?





	1. On This Christmas, Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the song "You Don't Have to Be Alone" by N'Sync. It was so tender and romantic that I had to put it to some Holtzbert. Really wanted to dig into Erin's personal issues. They don't go away overnight, after all. Final part will be out soon!

The holidays gave Erin a whole lotta passion in her little body. And this year, a whole lotta that passion was pointed at the direction of the beautiful, partly insane engineer who hit on her the moment she met her.

 

It’s not that Erin wasn’t already gushing about Holtzmann the rest of the year. But now Erin had such a desire for Holtzmann that it was  _her_ that Erin wanted under her tree. It was Holtzmann she wanted under the mistletoe. It was Holtzmann that Erin wanted to see in one of those sexy Santa outfits.

 

Alas, despite all of this desire and Erin’s heart aching for Holtzmann, she also felt heartache thanks to the deadly infestation of anxiety she’d built up over the last thousand years. So afraid of what others thought of her, Erin was usually too afraid to act on her feelings for anyone – man or woman. Thus, Erin had never been in a relationship, let alone much of a date. Yes, she had gone to homecoming with a boy and they shared a dance, but it never went beyond that. Yes, she’d gotten coffee with a cute guy in college here or there just to scope it out, but she never went past that even though there were no red flags.

 

So Erin had fallen into one hell of a hole of low self-esteem. A lifetime of no relationships convinced her that no one wanted her, so why should she bother with it? And even if someone wanted her, they probably would just dump her after a while. It wouldn’t go far. Why should she bother?

 

Yet, looking at Holtzmann happily patting her full gut after the team's early Christmas feast, Erin could only sigh happily over her. She thought about all Holtzmann would do for her. Letting her test new weapons first. The special tools and weapons she would get. Little treats and snacks here and there. Being mindful of Erin’s allergies or phobias once she learned of them.

 

Erin had rehearsed how to confess her feelings for Holtz, only to immediately backtrack and admit that she had no idea how it would go down. Or, in the back of her head, if she would ever do it. It was probably safer to never tell her. She could never fall for Erin even if she’s been flirting with her. It was just for fun.

 

Back and forth, forth and back, Erin’s mind would go. Torn between her feelings for Holtz that grew with each passing day, and her lifelong anxiety that told her to never even try.

* * *

 

A loud belch ricocheted around the firehouse as Holtz put down her fork, savoring the last bits of an apple pie in her mouth. Despite her tiny body, Holtz could seriously destroy food put in front of her. Looking at Holtz as she lazily rested a hand on her bulging food baby, Erin couldn’t help but wonder how Holtz could eat so much and stay so fit.

 

“Mama’s feeling like a good snooze is coming on,” Holtz purred. Erin’s breath hitched at how sleepy she sounded.

 

“I take it that means you don’t feel like putting away anything?” Abby rolled her eyes, smiling.

 

“Baby, I just put away enough food for all of you,” Holtz drummed her gut for emphasis, “I put away plenty.” She noticed Erin was staring at her again, so she turned to her, and gave her one of her trademark winks, and a flash of her teeth. “I could go for more dessert, though.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Erin, and grinned even harder when she noticed one hell of a blush on her face.

 

“Fine, but you’re making us all dinner after the break,” Abby called as she began moving back and forth from the table to the kitchenette.

 

“Alriiiiight,” Holtz smirked.

 

Eventually, the table was cleared, the leftovers were packed away, and everyone made to say goodbye to each other until the end of their break.

 

“Merry Christmas Erin,” Abby said as she squeezed Erin. They pulled apart, and Abby’s eyes began to get shiny. “I’m so glad I could have Christmas with you again.”

 

Erin had one of those desperate chuckles that usually preceded a crying session. “There’s nothing that means more to me than the fact I got to spend it with you too.”

 

Abby shrugged, and looked at over at Holtz, who was watching them happily. Privately, she knew that while Erin was happy to be with her again, Holtz was becoming the most important person in her life, and Abby couldn’t be happier. Maybe a Christmas alone together could finally do it for them.

 

Patty came over to embrace Erin next. “Merry Christmas baby,” she stroked Erin’s hair affectionately, “and be sure not to let Holtzy drive you crazy.” When Erin froze for a moment, Patty didn’t miss it, and whispered in her ear, “But maybe you should go ahead and tell her that she drives you crazy.”

 

Erin fumed that she couldn’t stop her blush from erupting on her face, but thankfully, she soon had a gigantic, muscular Australian to hide her face in. Granted, the impact of Kevin’s 220 lbs of solid muscle mass hurt, but at least she could hide her blush from Holtz.

 

The blonde in question came over, and extended her arms to Kevin. “Come here, ya big lovable-OOF” If Erin felt tiny next to Kevin, Holtz felt positively dwarfed.

 

Soon, Abby, Patty, and Kevin were gone, leaving just Holtz and Erin. They retired to the couch to watch some old Christmas movies, one of which was a pretty trashy direct to video sequel to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Despite the low quality, a really pretty song came on early in the film accompanying a scene of Rudolph and Clarice.

 

As it always did around Holtz, Erin’s mind began to wander.

 

She thought of how she wanted to fly around with Holtz for the rest of her life. She thought about how she wanted to see the stars with her. She thought about how she’d love to get her under the mistletoe, and kiss her once for Burl Ives.

 

The movie, bad as it was, was making her emotional. It was giving her a passion, and some rare… what was that word again? Confidence.

 

Erin took Holtz’s hand, and looked at Holtz as she looked down at their hands. Holtz took a long look, then locked eyes with Erin. Her expression was unreadable for a moment, but she soon gave her one of her trademark warm smiles. Her eyes had a twinkle in them – not her usual mischievous twinkle, but something a lot softer.

 

Erin responded by leaning against Holtz, only briefly taking her eyes off Holtz, who was still smiling silently.

 

Then Holtz glanced at Erin’s lips.

 

Erin took a peek at Holtz’s.

 

 _Something was happening,_  Erin thought.

 

Then Holtz began to lean in a little.

 

_Wait, wait, wait._

_This is a joke._

_It’s just a joke._

_She doesn’t really want you, it’s just the heat of the moment._

_Even if she does, she'll dump you once she learns how horrible you are._

_But oh god, she’s leaning in._

_Holtz was getting closer._

 

Her eyes were closing.

 

_Sweet Jesus she was puckering up._

 

Erin couldn’t process what happened next, even though her eyes were open the whole time. Holtz planted a kiss on her lips, her eyes closed.

 

But the fact that Erin didn’t react finally made Holtz panic. She opened her eyes and they exploded in horror as she looked at Erin looking at her in confusion and shock.

 

“I’m-Oh geez-Erin I’m-oh no” Holtz stammered, before she jumped up. 

 

Erin watched in horror as Holtz jumped off of the couch, and after taking another look at Erin, stammered “I’m so sorry,” and ran out of the firehouse like there was a fire.

 

Well, there was a fire, but Holtz thought that Erin wanted to put it out.

 

“Wait!” Erin cried to no avail, “come back! Please!”

 

Erin was too slow, however, as she awkwardly tried to leap to her feet. By the time she reached the door, Holtz was a blonde tuft of hair fleeing into the night.

 

“Please!” Erin cried, her heart breaking.

 

“Please…”


	2. There's One Thing You Should Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final part and resolution.
> 
> This ended up being way angstier than I expected.

 

Erin woke up the next morning feeling drained, even though she had just slept for a good nine hours. She stared at her ceiling, and turned over, groaning, to see how empty her bed was. And how she wanted Holtzmann in it so badly.

 

Oh.

 

Right.

 

Then the memory of what had happened last night returned. The ugly, hurtful memory returned and it spread throughout all of her body, as she began frowning involuntarily.

 

Sighing, she checked her phone, disconnecting it from her charger. No notifications greeted her. Every morning, Erin woke up and hoped to see a text from Holtz. Anything. And this morning, she ever so wanted something to pop up and make her phone vibrate. Something.

 

And yet, she also dreaded a text from Holtz. All it would probably say was “I’m sorry I freaked you out. I’ll leave you alone forever.”

 

Something budged inside Erin’s chest, causing her to sob. And she kept sobbing for the rest of the morning.

 

This ended up becoming the worst Christmas Eve Erin could ever remember.

 

And she kept cursing herself. It was all her fault. As always.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Come nightfall, Erin was buried under blankets on her couch, flipping channels for some sort of escapism. She came upon a music video channel, and stayed for the hell of it.

 

The music video had a very desaturated color palette. It started with an old, bitter looking woman looking into the distance. Then there was a flashback, to what appeared to be the woman’s teenage years. It was clearly the same actress/singer, only at their real age, and they shared several cute scenes with a boyfriend. Painting, driving around, swimming. Erin had a small smile at how cute they looked.

 

Only for an argument to occur between the couple based on a misunderstanding, and then their whole world collapsed. Their relationship ended, and Erin watched with a huge lump in her throat as it flashed forward again to the bitter old woman, lamenting that she couldn’t have a time machine to tell her boyfriend she loved him.

 

Erin’s lip quivered again, and she broke down into yet another crying fit.

 

* * *

 

 

At the firehouse, a steady flame in the fireplace brought a dim light to Holtz’s tear-stained cheeks. She was crashed on a sofa, cuddling a pillow she wished was a certain redhead. On the coffee table in front of her were numerous discarded cans of pringles and empty takeout boxes, but even her favorite foods couldn’t lift her spirits, as much as she loved food.

 

She got on her phone, and Googled the team, and gazed at her and Erin. She smiled sadly, only to come under attack from another round of crying.

 

She wanted Erin. Jillian Holtzmann wanted to belong to Erin Gilbert. She wanted so, so badly to be the one who tried to make Erin smile every morning. She wanted so, so badly to plant kisses on her forehead. She wanted so, so badly to be the most important person in Erin’s life.

 

Because Erin was the most important person in hers.

 

Ever the music lover, Holtz threw on an instrumental of a super-sappy love song, so she could just let the instrumental be the score to her current predicament. It would take years to separate the memory her broken heart tonight from this gorgeous song, but it was worth it. Anything that helped fill the chunk of her heart that had been ripped out. And crumpled up, and shredded, and then melted by scalding hot lava and _good fucking Christ why Erin_

 

Holtz let out a wail as she wiped her tears with her arm and kept sobbing, feeling like Freddy Krueger was tearing her into pieces.

 

She blurted out, **_“Why won’t you love me, Erin?!?”_**

 

It was such a childish thing to say, but she had to get it out. She had to really come to terms with all of this if she was ever going to recover. But did she want to? Was there really anyone else better than Erin in this world or the next? Or was Holtz just going to have to endure life without Erin, even as a friend? The thought hit her in the gut like a shovel and she let out another ugly wail.

 

She was just too weird. Too crazy. Too obnoxious. Too ugly. Too everything. Erin would never want her. This thought made Holtz punch the cushion of the sofa, but it just made her feel worse after letting out her frustration like this. Why was she such a damn drama queen? Why couldn’t she just accept that the woman she was in love with didn’t feel the same way?

 

“Holtz?”

* * *

 

 

Holtz froze, but the tears kept coming. She didn’t dare turn around, even though her devastated heart was already getting butterflies. She hadn’t heard Erin enter the firehouse, which made her all the more self-conscious. Maybe if she didn’t…

 

“I’m going to flip on a light…” Erin said anxiously.

 

“Er-“ Holtz couldn’t get it out before a light came on, and she was there, bare in front of Erin, her face red and splotchy, stained with countless tears, her eyes red and puffy, her hair more of a mess than ever. And her eyes also conveyed her desperate heartbreak as she looked into Erin’s with the most pitiful eyes you could imagine.

 

Erin’s own heart was crumbling.

 

“We.. we need to talk.”

 

Something snapped in Holtz. It wasn’t just anger, it was all her frustration from crying her eyes out for the past twenty-four hours, and she hopped up from the sofa, but still stood on the other side of it, the sofa dividing the two.

 

“Erin. I need to tell you something. I need to do this, because good God, my heart has been in fucking pieces ever since last night. I’m so, so sorry I’m doing this,” Holtz huffed, “Wait you know what? Fuck that. I’m sorry that I’m not sorry for saying this.” Her lip began to quiver again as she stared down Erin, “I put you first before anything else in my life 24/7, just forgive me for being selfish just this fucking once. Because-“, the tears started up again, “the thought of being selfish about you makes me _hurt.”_

Erin could only frown and give her a nod to go ahead.

 

“When I was at MIT, there was this girl. Valerie. She had black hair, dark skin, probably outweighed me by about 200 pounds, but she was cute. She was pretty hot honestly. And we hit it off, but then she started getting weird. She asked me questions I wasn’t ready to answer; especially to a girl I had just met even if I liked her. She got jealous of any other girl friends I had. She was messaging me nonstop. We talked for about 48 hours straight when I first added her as a friend on MySpace. She wanted to know everything about me. And she wanted to know what I thought of pictures of her in a bra and panties.”

 

Erin’s brows furrowed.

 

“When I went to talk to her about it, she stripped and tried to get me in bed. Really fucking hard. And to be honest, I did kind of want to. I did want to sleep with her. But it just wasn’t right. It wasn’t how it was supposed to go down. Eventually, she relented, but she still kept up all the sexual advances until I stopped talking to her.”

 

Holtz sucked in a sharp breath. “That was the closest I’ve ever come to having sex. And Valerie would’ve been my first time. But it wasn’t right. I wanted it, but it wasn’t right. It was so confusing for me. I knew it was wrong but my body said ‘hell yes’. And it just tore me apart. I had this chance, and I didn’t take it.”

 

Erin’s heart dropped.

 

“My heart still kind of hurts from all that drama, what could have been and all. She tried so hard to get into me, in more ways than one. And it hurts. It all scared me, and it still scares me. There’s still damage in here, even before today,” Holtz said, placing a hand over her chest.

 

“And I figured you were the one meant to heal it,” Holtz whispered.

 

Tears came from Erin.

 

“But you didn’t kiss me back. I thought you wanted me. But I was stupid. I’m so, so fucking sorry I did that to you. And if…” Holtz inhaled one of the most painful sounding breaths ever, “if you want me to, I’m prepared to just avoid you for good. I made you uncomfortable. I’m so, so sorry. You’re this amazing, sweet, kind angel and I never wanted to hurt you.”

 

Holtz just couldn’t take it anymore. Her sobs won, and she just crashed on the sofa again, weeping. She was taken by surprise when she felt a light amount of weight drop down next to her. She looked up through teary eyes to see Erin there, her face also raining tears.

 

“Erin?”

 

Erin responded by gripping Holtz’s knee, shaking.

 

“You didn’t hurt me.”

 

Silence.

 

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

More silence.

 

“And... I do want you.”

 

Holtz stopped crying and gaped at Erin in shock.

 

Now it was Erin’s turn to fight back more sobs as her speech became stilted and fast.

 

“I’m the idiot who didn’t kiss you back. It’s because I’m like you, Holtz. I’m afraid. I’m afraid of ‘what if’. I’m afraid of taking chances. I’m afraid of hurting you. And I…” Erin inhaled sharply, “I’ve never been in a relationship before because I’ve been so afraid.”

 

“Coffee dates never go any further than that. And frankly I’d have done the same thing you did with Valerie, even if she wasn’t overly forward like she was. I’m too afraid, Holtz. I’m too afraid of what others think, I’m too afraid of what you think, and I’m too afraid of what.. of what I think of myself.”

 

“Everything is wrong. I’m too awkward. I’m too unfunny. I’m too stupid. I’m too pathetic.”

 

Erin met Holtz’s eyes again.

 

“All my life I’ve prayed for someone like… like you, Jillian. Someone who chases away the monsters, someone who fights my battles, someone who cares for me and I mean genuinely cares about me. And someone who makes the lowest person on Earth feel special.”

 

Both women had waterfalls of tears cascading by this point.

 

Holtz finally, finally cracked a little smile even through all her tears. She leaned forward, and put a hand on Erin’s cheek. Erin looked up, and took that hand in hers.

 

This time, it was Erin who initiated the kiss.

 

Slow, hesitant lips met the other pair. The kiss wasn’t an excited, sloppy one as they tried to tear each other’s clothes off. It wasn’t the big damn kiss at the end of the movie and after the good guys won. It was a union of two people who in that moment realized they had found their soul mate.

 

Eventually, they both pulled away, but only a little bit. Now both of them were resting their foreheads against each other’s, their eyes closed. The tears had stopped.

 

Erin and Holtz pulled apart from this, and Erin wiped some remaining tears from Holtz’s face.

 

“I should have kissed you back last night,” Erin cooed.

 

Holtz’s face began to melt into the sweetest smile you could find. Like the night before, it wasn’t a flirty smile or smirk. It was a smile of pure, honest affection.

 

Pure love.

 

“Erin Gilbert. You… you really don’t have anything to apologize for,” Holtz exhaled slowly.

 

“And neither do you,” Erin replied.

 

“Whatever this is,” Holtz said, gesturing between them, “… I want more of. I want this to keep going.”

 

“And please, please don’t you ever feel like you aren’t enough for me,” Holtz said. “Because you are a miracle. The… the best thing to ever happen to me.”

 

Erin nearly wanted to cry again, and not from heartbreak. Well, not a negative heartbreak, anyway.

 

“Jillian.” Erin started. “I like to think I’ve come a long way since I came to your lab at the institute. And a lot of it is because of you. It’s like I sad. You’ve made me feel special.”

 

“More special than anything else in this world.”

 

“And just like that,” Erin’s voiced raised a little bit for emphasis, “ _just like that_ , I really do feel.. I don’t know. Unlimited. Like, like I could fly to Alpha Centauri and back. Just because of you.”

 

“So…” Holtz asked, “would you take me with you? Alpha Centauri or Armenia, Erin, I… I want to be with you.”

 

Erin took both of Holtz’s hands.

 

“We’d hold hands the entire way.”

 

Both of them got in close again, and wrapped their arms around each other, snuggling on the sofa.

 

* * *

 

Things may not have been 100% healed by this Christmas Eve, but it was a start. Holtz would continue to make sure Erin knew how loved she was, and Erin would help Holtz with her own fears and uncertainties.

 

And so it is here we shall leave them. They spent that Christmas Eve together, and later Christmas Day. And they would spend many, many more days and nights together.

 

Because on this Christmas, and from here on out, Erin Gilbert and Jillian Holtzmann didn’t have to be alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was something, eh?
> 
> So okay. First thing's first, yeah, I know I suck for so much angst. But I wanted the "Your eyes are red because you cried, you fell asleep by the fireside" lyric from the song feel genuine when used here. And make the resolution all that more meaningful.
> 
> The music video used is "The One That Got Away". Haven't we all feared the idea that we let the love of our life get away? The story of Holtz and Valerie is based on a real-life experience of mine, so it's kinda my own way of dealing with it, but I like the idea that despite her bravado, Holtz is fearful and inexperienced with what goes beyond dates and making out.
> 
> So yeah. A lot of angst. But a resolution I hope is slow, steady and genuine. I really wanted to make it as raw and slow as possible.
> 
> Also to clarify, in Chapter 1, the team had a pre-Christmas feast since Patty, Abby, and Kevin were leaving for the holidays. Hence why Holtz has a food baby at the start of the story.


	3. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the fluff I promised!

It was Christmas Day in New York, and for once, the city was a bit sleepy. Everyone was either inside or out of town, and all the snow was piling up, though thankfully not to biblical proportions.

It was the perfect day for Erin and Holtz to go outside and enjoy their winter wonderland, virtually to themselves. It was essentially their first date, though it never really occurred to either of them.

They held hands as they walked along the shore of the Pond, in a comfortable silence for a time before Holtz made a trademark terrible pun, and got Erin giggling. They soon transitioned to just staring each other down as they sauntered along, smiling at each other with a shared warmth that threatened to melt all of the snow.

They found a kindly-looking old man running a small concession stand, and bought some hot cocoa from him. They took a seat in a park bench, snuggling together. Even if they had all the coats in the world on them, it wouldn't have stopped them from snuggling this intensely.

Erin took a long slurp from her cocoa, and thought about, you guessed it, Holtz. Even when she had her all to herself, Erin couldn't stop thinking about her.

And yet, a cloud of uncertainty started to descend on her.

There were so many things to tell her. But how to make her see - the truth about her, who Erin really was. Would Holtz really never leave her? Impossible. She'd turn away from her.

Holtz felt Erin's eyes on her, and blushed. She could see in Erin's eyes that her fears were beginning to return. It didn't bother her in the slightest. Holtz knew that Erin was holding back and hiding. What, she couldn't decide. She couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for Erin to be the queen she knew she was? The queen that _she_ saw inside.

She smiled warmly at Erin, and squeezed her hand through their gloves, as if to say, "It's going to be okay. I'm here."

The cloud began to clear out from Erin's head. Holtz's smile worked like a charm. She felt... good. Just genuinely _good_.

And brave.

Erin put her cocoa down, and looked around until she saw what she was looking for. She took Holtz's cocoa from her, and placed both of their cups on the ground. Erin then jumped up from the bench, taking one of Holtz's hands and yanking her towards a big pile of snow. Holtz looked at Erin, puzzled, but then realized she had let go of her and ran a few yards back. Holtz saw Erin suddenly begin pumping her arms, jogging as quickly as she could through the snow, and her eyebrows began to rise as suddenly, Erin hopped in the giant mound of snow.

It wasn't quite like hopping in a pool, but Erin was still completely gone from sight. The thought of that kinda worried Holtz a little, and she began looking over the pile to find some trace of movement.

It was too quick for Holtz to react, but she suddenly felt slender, but firm arms wrap around her neck and a blur of pink wool. Holtz couldn't even gasp before she found herself pulled into the mound of snow, and could feel that she was completely enveloped.

She regained her bearings, and leapt out of the snow, gasping for air. If she had a chance to get a breath in before she had been pulled in, she wouldn't be panting right now in a slight state of shock.

Erin emerged from the mound, her hair positively dripping with snow, and a lazy smirk on her face. Holtz looked back at her to see Erin's face was partially obscured by her hair, which had been ruffled by her plunge into the snow. She couldn't help but grin evilly as she looked at Erin's shit-eating grin, and pushed her back into the snow pile.

Once Erin returned, Holtz playfully grabbed at her side, causing a squeal to erupt from Erin as she swatted her away. Holtz then declared that the last to make it back to the firehouse would be subject to a tickle monster session. Thus Holtz bolted off as fast as she could through Central Park's snow, with Erin tailing her. Both were laughing like idiots, and even disturbed a flock of pigeons, causing them to fly off into the white-grey sky.

Soon, they made it back to the firehouse, and began playfully arguing over who lost when Holtz made it back moments after Erin. Holtz ended up grabbing Erin's sides and began tickling her with vigor, and Erin shrieked as she did the same. Both of them were backing each other up here and there, but ultimately, Holtz ended up backing Erin onto the sofa, and they both flipped onto it. Erin was now on her back, Holtz face down on her, their stomachs resting on each other.

As they gathered their bearings, laughing so hard their stomachs hurt, Holtz threw her head back, knocking her legendary golden mane around. While her eyes were closed, Erin suddenly raised her head and planted a long kiss on Holtz's lips.

Holtz's eyes bulged open. Did Erin really just take the initiative like that - again? And to do _that_?

Holtz looked down at Erin, and her mouth got dry as Erin was now giving her the most damning bedroom eyes she had ever seen in her life, with a small, but clear smirk growing with each passing moment.

Holtz's expression finally adapted to this, as her eyebrows raised, her eyelids lowered and a smirk of her own began to take shape on her lips.

Erin moved to get up from her position, and then crawled into Holtz's lap. Now their faces were even closer to each other's. Their bedroom eyes turned into soft, warm eyes, and both pairs began to show evidence of developing tears.

Erin leaned in, and both pairs of lips met again.

* * *

 

Later that night, Erin was cradling Holtz, the little tears that had emerged from her eyes now making a comeback. She moved her position to be a little more comfortable, and beamed at how Holtz was lying in her bed, limp, shaking and exhausted, but in pure bliss too.

Holtz eventually opened her eyes to see Erin beaming at her, and wiped some of the tears from her eyes.

With a voice that was shaking from her pure ecstasy, Holtz whispered to Erin, "you're so beautiful," and pulled her in closer.

Erin kissed Holtz's nose and returned the embrace warmer than ever.

And if Erin felt the love tonight in the way she did, it was more than enough for Holtz just to be with Erin here, forever. 

The way Erin Gilbert was holding Jillian Holtzmann was evidence that this was the case this Christmas night. And it would indeed always be the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ended up being an adaptation of both the greatest Disney love song of all time, and also a retooling of my earlier attempt at an adaptation. I needed some fluff to give a happier ending to "You Don't Have to Be Alone". So I was able to bring to life an earlier attempt at something, and give a better resolution to my Christmas fic. I didn't get to publish it till an hour and 40 minutes after Christmas left. Aw well.
> 
> I really wanted to put these two through the wringer so their happy ending would be all that more poignant and powerful. Sorry for making you guys hurt, but I hope this made you guys smile. 
> 
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and a good day to you all, whatever traditions you follow!


End file.
